A little good news happens in all corners of the world

This week’s Little Good News is Episode 43 (the age I wish I still was).

A Little Good News was originally a 90second radio feature that aired in Penticton and Kelowna.

Radio stations don’t carry features anymore, so now it’s a newspaper column.

I am thankful to James Miller and Pat Bulmer for allowing me to chat with you every Saturday.

My email is often at the end of the piece, so feel free to let me know what works, or doesn’t work, for you.

Just some random thoughts today (though there are those who would argue all my thoughts are random, possibly even misguided. Boo on them).

A while back, a man named Matthew Smith, from West Kelowna, lost control of his truck and plunged down a 30-foot bank.

Matthew was seriously injured, but managed to climb back to the road before collapsing and lying there for three hours.

He had with him in the truck his two golden lab dogs, Ruth and Lady, who lay beside him to keep him warm and who alerted a neighbour when he arrived home.

They ran up to the guy, barked at him and led him to their master’s side.

Matthew was in a coma for a month and is now learning to walk again.

The whole thing about a dog’s love wows me.

You’ve probably seen this clip by now: Washington Capitals hockey player Brett Connolly wanted to give a puck to a little girl during the warmup, so he picks up a puck, skates over and tosses it over the glass. Her father catches it but gives it to his son.

Connolly gives the dad a stare, skates away, gets another puck, tosses it over, the father catches it and gives it to his other son.

If you saw it, you’ll remember how sad the little girl looked. Connolly bangs on the glass at the dad, gets another, and throws it over the glass. This time, it goes to the girl, who happies up in a hurry. I loved it.

A friend sent me some images from a sign at a gas station in South Africa. It’s a chalkboard sign they change every day. Apparently, the gas station has become quite a landmark and some people say they deliberately travel this route just to read the quotes. Here are a few:

— Don’t do something permanently stupid because you’re temporarily upset.

— It’s better to walk alone than with a crowd going in the wrong direction.

— Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.

— The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.

— If you had to choose between drinking wine every day or being skinny, which would you choose? Red or white?

Fred Trainor is a retired broadcaster. He lives in Okanagan Falls. Email: fredtrainor@shaw.ca